Way back Home
by Naria Prime
Summary: When we woke up on Earth, it felt as if no time had gone by at all. It had, though, almost 4 million earthen years, and Cybertron had changed radically in our absence. Cooperation was the key word, but how in the pits would that work? (Prompt from TF bunny farm on livejournal, someone please point me towards it...)
1. Chapter 1

Hi!

The inspiration for this story came from a prompt on the TF bunny farm on livejournal, but I lost the link... could anyone point me in the right direction?

Anyways, have fun with the first chapter!

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„Come on, 'Ria! We'll be late!"

„I'm coming!", I called out as I raced down the Ark's corridors after Sideswipe, towards the rec room. What we were hurrying to? As of this morning, our communications relays were finally fixed, so we could contact Cybertron! After 4 million years (and a few orns spent fixing the equipment) we could send the news that we were still alive.

I skidded to a stop in front of the rec room door, almost running into Sides who was nearly vibrating with excitement, too.

„Do you think they're still fighting?", he suddenly asked me quietly.

„Probably.", I replied. „I mean, this war's gone on for longer than I've been alive. They've probably continued without us." Honestly, I had no idea whether I liked this or the alternative. The only thing I hoped was that they hadn't completely forgotten us.

We were the last to enter the rec room, but my smaller size secured me a place close to the huge screen nonetheless. Sides simply squeezed in next to his brother Sunny. The room was completely packed, no one had wanted to miss this, but it was strangely quiet. Only a few whispers could be heard as the anticipation and tension rose.

Directly in front of the huge screen, Optimus was discussing a few last-minute-things with Prowl and Jazz. I fidgeted in place, looking around. Why was this taking so long? I was actually really close to asking this question out loud when finally, something happened.

The screen began to flimmer and, as one, we turned towards it.

Kliks passed as the connection was established, then the screen went black, a monotone voice droning: „Unidentified caller, please identify yourself."

My first thought about this was something along the lines of: _What the frag?! That sounds like a drone! Not normal..._ Over the sudden buzz of conversations I didn't even really hear what Optimus said in response to the creepy voice. Apparently, who- or whatever was at the other end didn't really hear him either, as the monotone came again.

„Your identification could not be understood, your call will be relayed..."

Everyone fell silent again, waiting.

The image that appeared shortly afterwards was one of a green-optic'd mech sitting in front of a communications console, obviously a neutral, but something was wrong... I leaned forward curiously, careful not to get into our camera's radius. However, it was only when the mech spoke that I realised it: His face was blank, his optics dim, and the monotone voice was his!

The air practically vibrated with comm chatter as the realisation spread, though everyone stayed outwardly silent.

:: _Ria, do you see this symbol in the background?_ ::, Sunny asked over comm, sounding confused. :: _I think I know it from somewhere, but me and Sides can't remember from where..._ ::

:: _Where is it?_ ::, I replied, staring intently at the screen, searching.

:: _Upper right corner, on the wall._ ::, Sides said, making it a three-way-comm. :: _It looks familiar, but..._ :: He trailed off.

Now knowing where to look for it, I spotted the symbol almost immediately. Really, it wasn't surprising that Sunny had been the one who had seen it first: It was small, but as an artist, he had an optic for details.

It was indeed familiar-looking... After only a few kliks, my search led me towards where I'd filed away my history lessons. Those had been rare and often interrupted by attacks and such, but it was more than enough for me to know this symbol...

When I found an explanation, I almost fell over, freezing in shock.

„Frag... Quintessons!", I blurted out. Everyone turned to look at me, silent.

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That's it! I hope you liked it!


	2. Chapter 2

Hi!

And I'm already back with a new chapter!

Have fun with it!

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„ _Frag... Quintessons!"_

„Cut the transmission!", I yelled, recovering from the shock first, for once glad that I knew just what tone of voice I needed to use that an order would be followed. Not even a klik later the image on-screen froze.

„What is the meaning of this, Prowl asked immediately afterwards, sounding completely furious. Optimus didn't look all that happy, either.

„That's not a prank!", I told them, trying to explain myself, pointing to the screen. „Just look! That symbol up there, in the background, it's Quintessonian! And that mech, didn't he sound like a drone?"

„You are right...", Optimus finally said after a thoughtful pause.

Kliks later, Prowl spoke up: „Leave the room! Emergency meeting in the war room in ten!"

It was as if a switch had been flicked.

Just as suddenly as the chaos had begun, it was replaced by focus, battle programs surging to the fore. This at least was something we knew how to deal with: Orders, battle preparations, and so on...

We left the rec room, and it took me a few kliks to both find Sunny and Sides and follow them. I didn't want to be left out again, as I so often was. I already had a plan, but I needed some help for that.

I only caught up to them when they arrived at their quarters, slipping through the door behind them without them really noticing me.

„Don't you want to know what's happening at the meeting?", I asked once the door had shut behind me. Startled, they whirled around.

„Whoa, 'Ria!"

„Did you have to sneak up on us like that?", Sunny griped, though I could see that he didn't really mean it. I laughed out loud. Apparently, they'd been very much distracted...

„You do know that I was just behind you almost all the way from the rec room...?", I questioned, amused. That surprised them even more. „Anyways, back to my first question: How about we listen in on the meeting?", I added once it was obvious that neither wanted to say anything.

„Sure.", Sides grinned at me. „You do have a plan already, don't you?"

Mirroring his grin, I replied: „Of course I have! It involves a well-timed distraction and..."

„Why don't you just go through the ventilation shafts and send us a live feed?", Sunny interrupted me almost immediately. I resisted the urge to facepalm.

„Yeah, that'd work, too.", I sighed. „It just wouldn't be as much fun..."

They shared a quick look, the Sides said: „Really, I'm all for a bit of fun usually, 'Ria, but this time, I think Sunny's right. We need to know what's going on fast, and his plan's faster." As much as I wanted to deny it, they really had a point there. This was way bigger than anything we'd experienced yet...

„I'll go.", I told them, suppressing the unhappiness I felt at not being able to do this my way. „Do you still have that entrance point opened up?"

„We barricaded it before the last inspection, but opening it again will be easy. Red Alert hasn't upgraded the vent security since the last time we used it, so the plan should still be valid..."

„Great." I smiled, moving to pull one of the berths away from the wall. Behind it, the entrance point was hidden. Well, they hadn't lied: It was barricaded shut completely. Mostly with bits of sheet metal and other unidentifiable parts, though it blended in with the wall surprisingly well. It only took us a few kliks to get it all away, revealing an opening only just big enough for me to fit through.

„I'll only start the live feed once I'm actually there, okay?" Not waiting for them to answer I drove into the hole head first. I knew the way well enough already, the only reason I actually had to use the plan we'd made was to avoid running into any traps laid out by our (very much overly paranoid) Security Director.

Reaching the war room only took a few minutes, but I was still too late to catch the actual beginning of the meeting. Instead, I arrived in the middle of a rather heated discussion between Optimus and the others. Actually, I almost forgot to start transmitting the live feed, I was that surprised.

„...might be our enemies, but Cybertron is their home as well, so they have the right to know.", Optimus was just saying as I arrived.

„Old Buckethead's not even going to listen, much less believe us when we tell him.", Jazz immediately argued. „He's just going to attack if he finds out that we're distracted!"

„If there is one thing Megatron cares about even more than defeating us, it is actually having a Cybertron he could rule. I have no intention of letting him rule our home planet. What I intended to say was that he is not going to like it that the Quintessons forestalled him..." Optimus trailed off there, having made his point.

Getting steadily more curious about the outcome of this discussion, I crawled a bit closer to the vent I was listening through. This was proving to be even more interesting than I'd thought!

An ominous creaking sound echoed around me, shaking me out of my focus and effectively ending the discussion as well. Oh, frag... they'd heard me!

I scooted back to the last intersection as fast as I could, fleeing, only slowing sometimes to make sure that I didn't trigger any traps. I really did not want to get caught...

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I hope you liked the chapter!

Please give me feedback if you did!

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See you soon (hopefully ;D)


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